Pure Magic: The Adventure Continues
by Noelerin
Summary: Must have read Pure Magic in order to understand this one. A return to Willow's Labyrinth for an old foe has reared their head in an attack on her. Buffy fights for her friend's soul - with aid from surprising allies.


Thanks to everyone who wrote to me, I really appreciate the feedback.   
Rating: PG  
Disclaimer: I don't own Labyrinth or the BtVS characters. They belong to Jim Henson, Joss Whedon, the Grr Argh people, WB, and various others respectively. I am not making anything from this.  
  
Pure Magic 2: The Adventure Continues  
  
They looked at the spot where Angelus was for a moment, then shrugged. "Sister, I was watching you. What's your problem with him? You've never been so intentionally cruel to anyone before."  
  
Willow sighed. "I know. It's just that Angelus is different. I had to bluff him, make him believe that he didn't intimidate me. When I realized that it was him, that he had lost all traces of humanity, I had to act cruel. If he in some way fears me, maybe he'd leave my friends alone."  
  
"Yes, that bit about his soul talking to his demon was a stroke of genius."  
  
"I didn't do that, he did." She admitted.  
  
"So, was his soul telling the truth about his feelings for Bunny, Barry,..."  
  
"Buffy. Angel loves her, it was only part of his soul that returned. You know, the part with the memories, the talents, and the personality, but not the feelings. So what he said to Angelus was the truth. From a certain viewpoint." She explained, then the realization of what happened hit her. "Oh, my gosh! Buffy!"  
  
"What about her?" He looked at her pale face in concern.  
  
"She doesn't know about me."   
  
"She doesn't? But what about that boy? Zeppo, Xapper...what's his name? He knows." Jareth pointed out.  
  
"Xander." Willow answered dryly. "I had to tell him. After all, someone had to keep me up to date on what was happening. The illusion of me only goes through the motions of living, it doesn't really take things in and process it."  
  
"Do you really love him?" Jareth asked, gently. "He really doesn't seem like the kind of person you would fall in love with. But I know he was there to help you deal with the loss of your powers."   
  
"I don't know. I thought I did but things have changed so much since then. When I lost them seven years ago, I felt like I lost myself. He was there for me. Now, I've found an identity outside the fae world and I'm not sure what to do with it." She sighed. "And how do I tell Buffy?"  
  
"She really doesn't know?" Jareth was honestly shocked. Willow would never omit something like that, especially to someone she considered a best friend.  
  
"I know. Shocking, isn't it? That I could do something so dishonest, practically lie to my best friend. It just never came up. I mean, how would I have broached that subject? 'Hi, Buffy! How are things? You and Angel are going to see a movie? Wonderful. Oh, and by the way, I'm a fae who's lost her powers. Have a great time.' That'll really work out well. My life is so messed up." She rested her head on her hand.  
  
Jareth smiled, "Well, at least that would get it out into the open."  
  
She glared and tossed a crystal at him. It turned into a spray of ice cold water and soaked him, head to toe. He spluttered a bit before he responded, wiping his hair out of his face. "Cute."  
  
"I thought so." She smirked at him. "Besides, I can't just drop it on her lap like that, especially now with Angelus running around. There must be some way to tell her that won't cause to much pain. And with Angelus knowing, well, I have to see what his move will be. The ball is in his court now."  
  
"So, now it's time to play the waiting game." He snapped and dried himself off, then dumped a pitcher of peach juice on her head. She choked as she felt the sticky fluid running down her hair. "Checkmate." He smirked and disappeared before her eyes.  
  
"Oh, I hate it when he does that!" She fumed and fixed her appearance. "Jareth, you rat! That was low down, dirty trick! You know I can't follow you because I have to get back to Sunnydale. But just you wait!" Her only answer was silence, she faded away and returned to the high school.  
  
"Can't wait, dear sister. I can't wait." He smiled softly, it was good to be back in the game. "I wonder how she'd feel if I paid her a little visit?"  
  
Meanwhile in Sunnydale:  
  
Angelus walked into the warehouse and saw Dru and Spike talking. Spike looked up and saw their sire, Angelus was positively brimming with excitement. "Looks like someone had a good evening."  
  
"Yes, my boy, I did." He sounded very satisfied with the night's events.  
  
"My Angel, you seem different. Did you get rid of the Slayer?" Dru asked him but remained by Spike's side though her eyes sent an invitation to her Angel.  
  
"No. I spent the evening running through Willow's labyrinth." He paused as a peculiar expression crossed Spike's face. "That mean something to you?"  
"It might, mate, it just might." Spike mused, his mind already thinking about this new development.  
  
"What's my Spike know that his dark princess doesn't, hmmm?" Dru whispered in his ear, eyes inviting his confidence. This Willow made her Spikey forget all about her and she wasn't sure she liked it.  
  
"Nothing, my sweet darkness." Spike wandered away and went into his room, closing the door quietly behind him.   
  
Angelus and Dru watched him go, both confused by his sudden withdrawal. It especially bothered Dru because her Spike had just left her in Angelus' care without a backward glance. Angelus was puzzled by his behavior, it had something to do with Willow. Was it possible that Spike knew her? Angelus shrugged that idea away almost immediately, if Spike had known her he'd have told him. Then he paused, wouldn't he?  
  
Spike took out an old album and flipped through the pages till he found a drawing near the back. He looked at the three people in it, focusing on the bright girl in the middle. She smiled sunnily back at him and his memories from another time stirred to life. "It can't be her, can it?"  
********  
Buffy was walking with Xander and Cordelia towards the library where Giles was waiting for them. "Hey, Xander, I've been seriously meaning to ask you something but never got around to it before we had to leave. Uhm, have you noticed anything different about Willow lately? Since Angelus' coming, I mean."  
  
Xander thought for a moment. "Nope, what do you mean different?"  
  
"You know, not all there?" Buffy tried to explain what she had been feeling from her friend.  
  
Cordelia added, "Yeah. Like she used to do. You know, when she'd get all whacked and spaced out?"  
  
Something clicked in Xander's head but before he could say something, Giles called them in. "Hey, Giles. What's new?"  
  
"The counsel hasn't sent us anything to be particularly watchful of." He paused before he went on. "And Ms. Calendar hasn't heard anything from her sources about any trouble brewing. So really all we need to worry about is Angelus. Has he done anything?"  
  
"Nada. I even beat Willie up and he says that Angel's been rather quiet lately."  
  
"But that's a good thing, right?" Xander asked, sitting on a desk.  
  
"Unfortunately not. With Angelus, one never knows what to expect. He may have left or is planning something that we can't stop. Vigilance is key to stopping him and even that might not be enough." Giles warned.   
  
He looked into the grim faces of the teenagers in front of him regretfully, yet proudly. They had been forced to grow up so quickly and yet they were still hopeful for the future. Only one was missing from his family. He sighed and wondered again what had happened to Willow since the Judge and Angel's change.  
  
They turned as they heard soft footsteps in front of the door, a tentative knock sounded before the doors opened and a red head poked her face in. "Hi. Am I welcome?" The rest of her words were drowned as she was pulled into their welcome embrace.  
  
Buffy smiled, this was more like the Willow she knew and depended on. That light was in her eyes again.  
  
Later, Willow stood outside Buffy's front door and nervously smoothed down her dress with her shaking and sweaty palms. She lifted a hand to knock but it fell almost immediately to her side. "I can't."  
  
"Can't what?" Buffy's amused voice asked from behind her. "And Willow, you don't need to knock. Our door is always open to you. You're family."  
  
Willow winced at her last words. *This is going to be harder than I thought. She bit her lip, "Can we go in? I have something important to tell you."  
  
"Well tell me later, Giles has given me the night off and we're going to the Bronze to celebrate." Buffy pulled Willow along and soon they were seated at the Bronze with Xander and Cordelia.  
  
Willow cleared her throat. "Guys?" They looked at her. "I really need to tell you something. It's about why I've been acting so odd lately. I mean, not odd like totally possessed or weird or on a caffeine high but different. You know, there but not all there?"  
  
"Yeah?" Cordelia asked, totally bored.  
  
"You see, I'm..." Her sentence was cut off as Buffy exclaimed.   
  
"Mom, I want one of those." There was silence in the room as all eyes focused on the door and all the women seemed to echo Buffy's words. Willow turned around and saw someone familiar standing in the doorway taking their attention as his right. "Who is that incredible looking man?"  
  
Willow sighed, "My brother. Jareth, the Goblin King."  
  
That got their attention. For a moment they just looked at her, then they started to laugh. "Good one, Wills. I almost believed you." Buffy's laughing tone cut Willow's heart but she waited until their laughter died out. Buffy took a good look at Willow's face and the laughter in her eyes died out. "You're not joking, are you."   
  
It wasn't a question but Willow answered it anyway, her voice as soft and gentle as she could make it. "No, I'm not." She flinched at the look of hurt on Buffy's face, the contempt on Cordelia's. She felt sorry for Xander who had kept her secret, though she knew he most likely had forgotten the truth, and sent a wave of comfort his way.   
  
Willow finally broke the silence. "Buffy, I can't begin to imagine how you must feel. You need to talk to me." Her voice was soft and almost pleading with her friend, her very real pain was in her voice.  
  
Buffy looked away, trying to ignore her friend's pleading and pain. "Talk? I'm to hurt to talk to you." Buffy's voice was full of pain. She felt like her one solid anchor had suddenly fallen apart and nothing was ever going to make it right again.  
  
"How could you lie to us?" Cordelia asked contemptuously.  
  
*I didn't lie, not really. She thought reflexively, then forced herself to think about the question seriously. "I never lied about being your friend. I did lie about being human, sort of anyway."  
  
"There's no such thing as half a lie. Either you did or you didn't."  
  
"No, Cordelia, I guess there isn't. But I've only been human for seven years, give me a break." She ran a hand through her hair, trying to still the frustration she was feeling. Jareth watched, feeling the tension rolling off her in waves. "I never expected to regain my powers, that usually doesn't happen. Once the powers are taken, they are gone for good. This is the first time a displaced fae has ever regained their heritage."  
  
"Then how did you? And what happens to your job?" Cordelia asked, since it became apparent that Xander knew at least part of the story and Buffy wasn't going to say anything.  
  
"The young lady who caused me and my brother to lose our powers returned them to us. What usually happens is that after a few years, a new fae is called to..."  
  
"Replace the displaced fae." Jareth finished for her and kissed the top of her head affectionately. He had come up behind them while they were talking, well while they were interrogating his sister. He enjoyed their looks of surprise, he always did love that part. "Am I interrupting something?"  
  
"No, I was just trying to explain to my friends why I lied," she swallowed at the word, "to them about who I was. Jareth, meet Buffy, Xander, and Cordelia. Guys, this is Jareth." He smiled at them and nodded as they nodded back.  
  
Buffy finally looked up and over at the two, not surprised that she couldn't feel anything inside. It was like an ice burg had taken up residence within her soul. This was worse than anything Angelus had done to her because she realized that he wasn't Angel. But this was different, this was the same Willow she'd made friends with when she first came to Sunnydale. The only thing that kept her from running out of the Bronze was Willow's eyes.  
  
The love and friendship, the total acceptance of who she was, that had always been there was there still. Though they were overshadowed by her very real pain. And then Buffy remembered that Willow had, on several occasions, tried to tell her something. But her slayer duties interrupted or she wanted to talk about Angel, she'd always thought it had something to do with Xander.  
  
"Willow?" Buffy finally spoke up and was rewarded by Willow's nervous smile as she looked at her. "Can we talk?"  
  
"Sure." Jareth nodded that it was okay with him, he hoped that she'd be okay. The girls walked out of the Bronze together, blissfully unaware of the two sets of eyes on them-a black pair and a pair of blue. The owners of the eyes stayed in the shadows, watching the group left behind.  
  
Buffy and Willow walked for a while, the silence between them stretched between them for so long it was becoming uncomfortable. Finally, Buffy hesitatingly spoke up. "So, Jareth, he's your brother."  
  
"Yup." *At least she's talking to me. Behind them a shadow detached and followed them from a safe distance, listening to every word.  
  
"And he's a goblin king?" Willow nodded, uncertain as to where this conversation was going. "Is he something I'll have to slay?"  
  
Willow was shocked and stopped. "Buffy!"  
  
"Sorry, but Will, what am I supposed to say?" Buffy turned to her. "How am I supposed to deal with this when I'm not even sure what this is all about? My best friend is not who I thought she was! She has a goblin king for a brother, I don't even know what he is or if I'll have to slay him. I don't know who or what you are?!?"  
  
"I'm fae. Princess over the hob goblins in a labyrinth dwelling in the Underground by the Western part of the Goblin City." Willow answered dully, quoting from memory.  
  
"I don't even know what that means!" Buffy exclaimed. "Or if you'll be..."  
  
"A fae is like a faery except more powerful. Try to think along the lines of a sorceress or witch." Willow broke in. At Buffy's dazed look, she looked down at her feet. "Sorry."  
  
"So am I. I don't know what's truth anymore. Ms. Calendar, Angel, Angelus, Drusilla, you, Xander, Cordelia...What am I supposed to believe? The only thing that seems relatively normal is Spike!" She tried to stop her crying by injecting a little humor into the situation.  
*Ms. Calendar? What is she talking about? "Believe in our friendship, Buffy. That was one thing I never lied about, I couldn't. I'm more human than most of the faes, I feel more deeply, more passionately then they do. So does my brother. If you can't bring yourself to trust me, trust the fact that I never lied about being your friend."  
  
Angelus emerged from the shadows where he'd been watching and listening, waiting for his moment to strike. He'd decided that if she left his children alone, he'd leave her alone. But he no longer felt that burning desire to drive the Slayer crazy, then kill her. That shattered look on her face made him smile. "Hello, lover. Did you miss me as much as I missed you?"  
  
"Leave her alone, Angelus." Willow warned, her eyes flashed dangerously.  
  
He chose to ignore that warning. "Why, little one?" He made his low as intimate and as possible, knowing what Buffy would think.  
  
Something in his voice told Buffy that he knew who she was and she saw red. Her hand slapped Willow's face. "How could you?!? You told him before you told me! I never want to see you again, Willow! I hate you!" She ran off, oblivious to the dangers around her.  
  
Willow watched in despair as her friend took off, running like the demons form Hell were chasing her, filled with an aching sadness for her friend. She protected Buffy, then turned on the smirking Angelus in a blind rage. "You monster!" She was so angry and so hurt that she took it out on Angelus. She turned him into a mouse and left him there.  
  
But before she left his sight, she collapsed into tears, tears that mirrored another girl's across town. Fortunately, for Angelus, she hadn't locked down the spell and he found himself restored.  
  
Angelus stood and watched the girl for a few moments, part of him relishing her pain, knowing that it mirrored Buffy's. But another part of him was wary of sticking around her after that little display of magic. He decided to get out of there before she saw him and did something even worse to him than turning him into a mouse. He glanced once more at her fallen figure before melting into the shadows and decided to pay Buffy a little visit.  
  
Willow didn't deserve this. Angelus stopped in shock. *Where did that thought come from? He scowled, *must be that pesky soul. Must be getting a bit more daring since the curse because I never noticed before what a bothersome pain it was. He shrugged it off and walked to the Bronze, quickly spying his children on opposite sides of the room watching the Scooby Gang and Jareth.  
  
Seeing Jareth made Angelus pause as a twinge of guilt passed through him but he ignored it. He made his way over to Dru, smiling at her. "What are you doing here, baby?"  
  
"Watching Spike. He's been so awfully neglectful of me since you mentioned that silly mortal girl Willow." She spat out the name like she had drunk some poisoned blood. "Who is she?"  
  
"She's more dangerous than the Slayer. She's fae."  
  
Dru gasped in shock. "Of course! Why didn't I see it before? The hair, the eyes, the delicate build of her body. The stars whispered of her to me." Dru's eyes flew to the departing group. "But how would my Spike know of them?"  
  
"Oh, I'm back to being your Spike now? Funny, from the way you've been acting lately, I would've thought I was expendable to you." He drawled from behind them, then turned to Angelus. "Where's Willow?"  
  
It was in his voice, his eyes, that tipped Angelus off. "You do know her." His voice held a barely restrained rage. "You could have said something to me before I nearly got myself killed."  
  
"I didn't know it was her until you mentioned her labyrinth. I spent most of my youth there, but the memories are rather blurry." Spike responded, rolling his eyes.  
  
"Willow would be thrilled to know that you're still around William." A voice drawled. "I thought I recognized your unique presence."  
  
"Jareth!" Spike looked over Angelus' shoulder and saw him. "Are you sure thrilled is the right word to use considering that I've tried to kill her and her little friends?"  
  
"Yeah. She'd make you writhe-might suspend you over the bog for a while but I'm sure that she'd get over it soon enough. She is my sister after all, not one to hold grudges for to long."  
  
"Oh, really? What about Kelion?" Spike asked. His memories were coming into focus not that he was in Jareth's presence again, he has that effect you know.  
  
Jareth looked pained. "Oh, that idiot deserved everything she gives him. If it wasn't for him, you'd never have left us."  
  
"So, it was him." Spike said softly, as they headed for the door. "I always wondered how it happened."  
  
"When Willow found out that he was responsible for your expulsion. Well, let's just say that it wasn't a good day to be in the Underground. She raved and ranted, refused to be consoled. She came really close to ending Kelion's life, and I do mean close. Father finally had to banish her to the middle ground."  
  
Spike whistled low. "Cor. She did that, for me?"  
  
"You were her only friend, other than myself. But I don't think a brother counts as a true friend. Xander, Buffy, and Cordelia are the only others she's ever had. You know mom."  
  
He nodded and smiled wickedly. "Didn't they base the iron maiden on her?"  
  
"Nope. The iron maiden is kinder and gentler to people." They shared a smile, then Jareth crumpled up in intense pain. Spike! Get to Willow! Now!"  
  
But his words were unnecessary as Spike had already disappeared. The closer he got to Willow, the more pain he sensed emanating from the area. Spike rounded the corner and saw Willow being beaten by a group of demons he recognized from the middle ground. *How'd they get out? He wondered as he rushed into battle. He couldn't understand why she wasn't fighting back, she seemed to be almost welcoming the pain.  
  
Deeply concerned for his little friend, he slayed the lot of them. He didn't care what anyone else thought of him-Willow was his focus. Angelus and Dru followed him quickly, surprised to see these strange creatures. They were followed by Jareth. He had joined them as soon as the pain had subsided enough for him to function, he growled when he saw his sister's bleeding and broken body.  
  
"What were those things?" Angelus asked Jareth, who had picked up his sister. "And what did they want with our dear little Willow?"  
  
"Middle ground beasts. My guess is that Kelion has been watching us and is ready for revenge. I told you that Willow nearly killed him. He's a proud man and to have a tiny girl beat him? Kelion isn't normally a nice fellow and after that defeat, he's been nearly impossible to be around." Jareth teleported them into his castle in the Underground, they arrived in a large bedroom.  
  
It was a bit much for Dru to take in and, with an agonized scream rarely heard from a demon, she fainted. Spike caught her, his face was horrified. "She'll be okay. The magic here was too much for her system to take in all at once, so it shut down." Jareth gently said, feeling his pain. They placed the women in twin beds and quietly left the room.  
  
"What is going on here?" Angelus exploded, glaring at the other two. "And why aren't you in as bad shape as your sister?"  
  
Jareth sighed and sat down heavily on one of the dark blue chairs in the room. There was a fire going in the fireplace that covered on of the walls. The moonlight streamed in through the bay window, bouncing off the walls and bathing the room with a gentle glow. Spike sat down near the bookshelf in the nearly black chair that used to be his, by his side was a small table that had three glasses, a pitcher of blood, and some apricot juice. Angelus paced in front of the fire before the two, waiting for an explanation.  
  
"The first thing I did after I returned was to seek a protection spell for me and Willow. I wanted to make sure that, while we would still be connected, the other would not be as affected. This would mean that if one of us was attacked, the other could help. And that both of us could not be stripped of our powers again. Meaning that even if I were to lose them again, she wouldn't and vice versa." Here he stopped and Spike picked up the tale.  
  
"As for what's going on, we'd have to tell you our story. As you know, my parents weren't the best a kid could want. My dad was never home and my mom worked, mainly to support her habit." Spike paused, this was harder than he'd thought it would be. "One day it became to much for her and she wished me away. I was grabbed by the goblins that very night and brought here. I was ten years old. Luckily for me, the King was nowhere around and I met Jareth."  
  
"I had always wanted a brother and we became fast friends. It also helped that he was only a year older than me. When my father returned, he was surprised to find us playing together peacefully. He allowed William to remain with us instead of sending him to another kingdom. Those were the days."  
  
"Yeah. King Dramius was a good man and a wonderful king."  
  
"What about Willow?" Angelus asked, before he lost the two in memories.  
  
"I'm getting to that. The King was married to a woman named Alanna. She was raised in the Realm of Nightmares, so she was by necessity a hard fae. The creatures of that place are used to harsh treatment and Alanna was very good at that sort of thing." Spike paused, repressing a shudder. "Unfortunately, she didn't just beat the hobs and other creatures that had come with her, she took it out on Willow as well. We had been commanded to visit her palace."  
  
"This was done so that mother could spend sometime with me but she never liked me. I never listened to her and had a habit of disappearing on her." Jareth almost smiled but didn't, remembering what had happened that day. "Anyway, my father never got to spend much time with Willow, so we had to go. We arrived early and heard her scolding Willow. I was appalled at the things she said to my sister, she quashed any hope or joy that was in Willow."  
  
Spike stood, and walked around the room restlessly. He snorted. "Queen Alanna was lecturing her because Willow didn't sit up straight at breakfast that morning. Angelus, this woman would be able to scare you."  
  
Angelus laughed, his expression mocking his child's words. "That's hard to believe."  
  
"I'm serious. There are things that you would never do but this woman would do them without a second thought. She was beyond cruel. I couldn't wait to get away from her, from that chilly palace, from the greedy and thoughtless cruelty of all who lived there. And then I met Willow." He sat down again, a smile on his face. "She was small and very shy but...there's just something about her. It's hard to describe the affect she has on people."  
  
Angelus nodded, "I know what you mean. I've never met anyone quite like her."  
  
"My sister is aptly named. Like a willow, she'll bend but she won't break. Mother tried her hardest to do it and couldn't."  
  
"But like a willow has all those leaves covering it, Willow had a rather large security blanket covering her. It was hard to find the real her under it all. But we wouldn't give up, if we had to be there, we were gonna cause as much trouble to the Queen as possible." Spike smiled wickedly.  
  
Dru walked in at that moment, a dreamy look on her face. She said nothing as she sat down in front of Spike, resting her head in his lap. He ran his hand through her hair, softly and she smiled. When it became apparent that she wasn't going to say anything, he continued. "Within a few days, her soul broke free and we discovered the truly amazing creature that she was. The whole feel of the land changed, like it was waiting for that moment to happen."  
  
Jareth picked up the tale. "She was a different girl entirely, more alive than anyone had ever seen her before, full of that glorious laughter she has. You know, the one that you feel all the way through you? It was so incredible. Needless to say, mother was NOT happy about it at all. Willow is naturally a child of light, mother was of the darkness. Willow's awakening changed everything. Mother left in a snit and most of the creatures went with her. Unfortunately, the hobs stayed behind."  
  
Spike took a turn. "Without the queen there, Willow had to take on her calling much earlier than any other fae ever had. She was forced to take care of the hob goblins, I take it you haven't had the pleasure of meeting them?" He asked Angelus, looking over at him.  
  
Angelus was now sitting in front of the fire, a glass in one hand. "No, I didn't." He thought for a moment before continuing. "So, she had a horrible childhood and then was forced to grow up even faster?"  
  
"Yes and no. Willow is the Fae Keeper of Dreams, she makes sure that the balance between light and dark remains. That one kind of dreams doesn't overwhelm the other, not that hard really. The hobs, on the other hand, did force her to take on a new role, they were used to harsh treatment and wouldn't cooperate any other way. Willow is, for the most part, a gentle girl. She hated having to hurt them." Jareth explained and looked at Spike, both remembering the many nights Willow had cried herself to sleep.  
  
They were startled when a sudden, unearthly, piercing scream cut through the room, interrupting their conversation. They leapt up and ran into Willow's room, shocked to see her feverish, sweat drenched body-still unhealed. Jareth cursed and crossed the room, placing a hand on her forehead. The contact was electrifying, sparks shot around the room as Jareth was gripped in a paralyzing vision.  
*****  
Willow stood, trembling before her enraged mother. Her mother's voice was cold as she scolded her for one more mishap on Willow's part. "You beastly girl, that doll was not a toy. You should have known better. Honestly, a girl your age should be more careful with her things." Queen Alanna was holding the doll over Willow's head, accusingly.  
The doll was in marvelous condition, except for one golden curl that lay in the middle of its' forehead. Willow ducked her redhead in shame, she bit her lip-looking like the four year old she was. Her tears ran down her cherubic cheeks.  
Her mother continued on, ignoring the tears and the shamed position. "What is wrong with you? Don't you have anything to say? Is that it, brat? Don't you want to be a grown up? Or is it that you are to good for these treasures I've given you? Do you think you are above them?" She yanked on the long hair, forcing the child's head up. "Well, answer me. I know that you've got a tongue in that stupid head of yours."  
Willow shivered, then stuttered out her response. "No, mother, I don't think that at all." There were snickers around them as her mother's minions laughed gleefully, knowing that something good was about to happen.  
Queen Alanna's lips curled up in a disdainful sneer as she rocked Willow's head back and forth, loving the fright in the green depths. "Oh, but I think that you do, my girl. You think that you are better than such childish things." She dropped the fragile doll and watched as it shattered on Willow's head, cutting into it in several places. "Well, then, if you're too good for that doll-then you're too good for these!"  
She strode across the room and flung the doors to the toy room open and began to throw the toys around. She ripped the books and smashed the shelves and toy chest, stomping on the stuffed animals from Willow's father. The girl darted across and picked up a small brown teddy bear. "No, please, stop. Don't!" She screamed the last part as her teddy, the only thing she'd ever gotten from Jareth, was ripped from her arms and tossed out the window. The sound of maniacal laughter danced off the walls as she collapsed to the ground.  
Queen Alanna was done, she looked around in catlike glee. She grabbed Willow and slapped her stunned face. "Clean this place up, you slob. This room is a disaster area, you should be more careful with your things. You don't want to lose them."  
Willow was flung down, landing right on top of the broken toy chest. She looked around at the shattered remains of her childhood, dazedly. Nothing could be salvaged, not even her amethyst crystal juggling set from her grandmother. Her heart ached and she wanted to cry, to scream, but the tears weren't coming, she hurt too much.  
Suddenly, she left the ground as her mother picked her up, shaking her like a rag doll. "I know you're no dummy girl, even if you look it. Now, do as you were told. I won't ask nicely again." The words were coolly uttered, then Willow was dropped.  
She quickly got up on her knees and began to clean up. Her mother watched for a moment before sharply kicking her, then she left. Her sure footsteps echoed along the marble hallway, growing fainter as she walked. The minions gleefully watched before following the Queen, not wanting to risk her anger.  
*****  
The vision abruptly ended when Spike yanked Jareth's hand away from Willow. "Gloves, man. You're always lecturing us about the importance of wearing them, especially when you're going to be in contact with another fae."  
  
Jareth looked at him with such hatred in his eyes that Spike jerked away, burned by the heat in that glance. "What happened?"  
  
"I really hate my mother!" Jareth's voice was harsh, viscous. "I just saw my dearest mother reprimanding our little Willow for messing up a curl on one of her dolls. She then ruined all the other toys and books, while tossing Willow around like a rag doll! William she was only four years old!"  
  
"Four? I hate your mother too." Spike's voice was equally cold. "But why would Willow be dreaming about that?"  
  
"She has no choice, my dearest." Dru's singsong voice pulled their attention her way.  
  
"What do you mean?" Jareth asked, walking to her side.  
  
She giggled, with childlike glee, then lowered her voice like she was confiding a deep, dark secret. "The nasty fae has her caught in his darkness. He's making her live through her worst nightmares," She danced over towards Spike, stopping two inches in front of him. "If you don't stop him, she will die. And by her own hand too."  
  
Jareth hurled a crystal out the window and watched as a section of the Labyrinth exploded into various colors. He heard the screams and knew that some creatures had probably been killed, but at that moment, he could care less. "I should have known that Kelion would try something. Blast his blackened heart! How do we free her?"  
  
"You go to his realm and destroy the nightmare ring-and him." Dru trilled in a happy voice, She was having ever so much fun here, and the visions didn't hurt so much. Plus, there was going to be some delightful bloodshed soon.  
  
"All right, I'll tie up the kingdom's affairs and then..." Jareth glanced at his sister and sighed. "I can't leave her like this."  
  
Dru walked over to him, her eyes bright with determination. "I will take care of her, I swear. Nothing will happen while I watch her." She was serious. Willow was important to her daddy and her Spike, therefore, she was important to Dru.  
  
Jareth studied her and liked what he found written in her eyes, "I believe you will. We'll be off when I'm done." His look included Angelus, pointedly.  
"What?" The older vampire growled, not liking Jareth's look.  
  
"You are going. It IS partially your fault that my sister is like this."  
  
"What do you mean?" This time his voice was more subdued.  
  
"I know what you did when Buffy and Willow went away to talk. You're act was cruel and uncalled for, I don't care what your deal with the Slayer is, you had no right to bring my sister into it. You will make up for it now." His voice literally dared Angelus to push him but for once Angelus was ashamed and said nothing. Jareth turned to leave.  
  
Spike stopped him, "We need someone else."  
  
"Who?" His tone was impatient, angry at being stopped.  
  
"Buffy Summers." The room filled with stunned silence, broken only by Willow's raspy breathing. "She is the best Slayer, a valuable strength in our coming battle. She's fast, impetuous, unpredictable, we need her."  
  
"Fine. You have an hour to get her, no more." Jareth said, opening a portal into her room.  
  
"I won't need that much time. She'll come-willingly or not." Spike grimly answered, stepping into the portal. He entered her room in time to see her fall down on the bed in a heap. She'd obviously had a bad day at school but Spike wouldn't allow his sympathy for her detract him from why he was there in the first place. "Slayer."  
  
She shot up, shocked, horrified to find him in her room. "What do you want? How did you get in here?" Her voice was thoroughly dead, completely drained of fight and life.  
  
"I walked and your help." Spike answered, walking over to the closet and pulling out a pair of jeans, a flannel, her jacket, and picked up a pair of combat boots with thick gray socks.  
  
"What do you think you're doing?" Buffy was beginning to feel outraged at his behavior.  
  
"Getting some clothes for you. Get up and move through there." He demanded as he tossed her clothes through the glowing portal. Spike glowered at her when she just continued to look at him.  
  
She jumped up and stormed over to him. "I don't think so, blondie!" She swung out with a vicious right, followed by a swift uppercut-which was cut off when he grabbed her hand. He used it to twist her body around in an awkward position.  
  
"I don't have time for this. Save that energy until later, pet." Spike shoved her through and they emerged in Will's room.  
  
"Oh, goodie!" Dru clapped her hands in delight. "You've brought her. Now the fun really begins."  
  
Buffy managed to break free and kicked Spike. "Just who do you think you are, you bleached moron?" She growled.  
  
"I think that I'm Willow's friend. And I don't care how hurt you are by what happened, right now she needs you!" He emphasized the last words. Then he gestured towards the figure on the bed. "Now, do you want to exchange insults all day or do you want to help her?"  
  
Buffy's eyes widened when she saw the inert form on it. Willow was pale, bruised, and badly beaten but she could tell it wasn't a vampire's work. She whipped around and looked at Spike, her anger and determination clearly written on her features. "Who do we kill?"  
  
"Anything that tries to stop us from curing her." Jareth answered as he entered the room.  
  
Buffy quickly changed into the clothes and boots, uncaring of those who were in the room with her. "Understood." She tied the jacket around her waist.  
  
They started out, moving swiftly through his labyrinth and heading out across the desertous landscape that led to the Nightmare King's world. The first day passed in near silence and they pressed on well into the night.  
  
Something was puzzling him about the way Jareth and Spike spoke to each other and it finally hit him. Angelus had noticed that whenever Jareth spoke to Spike, he called him William and Spike didn't seem to mind. It disturbed him because if he called him William, he would get a smart aleck response. Spike could tell that his sire had something on his mind and slowed down so that they could talk. "What?"  
  
"Why is it that Jareth can call you William but if I try you get angry? You remind me that you're different vampire."  
  
Spike thought for a while, trying to frame his answer clearly. "Mate, when you call me William it's to remind me that you are in charge. That you are my sire and I owe everything to you. It's a derogatory name to you."  
  
He paused before continuing. "When Jareth calls me William, I know he is talking to me as an equal. It is a sign of respect. I would be hurt if he called me Spike, he knows me as his equal-not someone who was made by him but who made himself."  
  
"And what of your feelings for Willow?"  
  
"Willow is Willow, she's my sister just as Jareth is my brother."  
  
Something about actually talking to Spike instead of down to him, and it may have been part of the soul's influence but Angelus began to remember things about William. Things about his manner and behaviors when they had first met, he'd been intrigued, drawn to the younger man. So much that he didn't want to change him and destroy his uniqueness. It hadn't been until he'd found him lying in his own blood, brutally attacked that he decided to change him. "You told me about them, I put it down to a fanciful imagination."  
  
"But you drew them for me in vivid, living detail." Spike said. "Some of you best work ever, mate."  
  
Angelus nodded in agreement, he remembered those drawings. They'd been done while William was still a human. "What ever happened to them?"  
  
"I kept them in an album, they just reminded me of you and I before Dru. Not that I don't love her because I do, I just felt like I was losing something that was so special to me now I know why." Then he shook his head and straightened his shoulders resolutely and the moment passed. "But we can't go back, come on." He viciously slashed at the grasping, blue gorble bush by their side and ran to catch up with the others. Angelus followed him slowly, pondering about the things Spike had said and about the past.  
  
Jareth stopped in a clearing of dark purple Kia trees and blood red Swahi brushes. In the distance they could see the gloomy land that housed the Nightmare King. "We'll rest a while before we split up. Kelion will be expecting us, I want to get there but chances are slim. If one of us doesn't make it the other one *must*! Willow's life depends on us."  
  
Buffy unrolled the blanket and grabbed a plum, biting into it. "How do we decide who goes with who?" She looked at the plum, it had an odd taste.  
  
Jareth smiled. "It's not you. The food around here tastes richer than food above ground does. Now, only two of us know how to get to the castle, we'll pair off."  
  
"Then I'll go with Spike." She ignored their gasps of surprise. "He'll keep me on my toes and I don't think I'm all that ready to handle the fae side of Willow."  
  
Jareth looked at Spike. "William? It's up to you."  
  
"All right." He sipped his blood. "We'll take the first path on the by way right after you set off, okay?"   
  
Though Buffy was a little confused by his terminology, she agreed with everyone else.  
  
While everyone slept, Angelus lay starring up at the stars. So many things had changed for him during the last few days. He went from having a soul to no soul, to a partial soul-after finding Willow's secret, to finding out that Spike was telling him the truth all those years ago. He wondered where he stood now-his soul was stronger than before and yet weaker than during the past century. And what were his feelings for his childre? He knew that he loved them but...if he truly did then why did he use them as expendable toys?  
  
Angelus had witnessed Jareth and Willow's careless cruelty and yet knew of their deep love for others the affection Jareth held for Spike was obvious. How did they balance the two seemingly contradictory emotions?  
  
"What are you thinking about so deeply that you can't rest and keep growling?"  
  
Without his knowing exactly how it had happened Jareth was by his side. He looked fully rested after only a few hours of rest. "Lots of confused thoughts."  
  
"If you want to share, I'll listen." Jareth sat by his side, watching the sun rise over that dark black mountains. Though its glow warmed the Underground, the deathly land before them remained cold and dark with its ditches and steep inclines. The darkness seemed to stretch before them infinitely.  
  
The utter lack of color was appalling, as was the lack of vibrancy. The trees, if you could call them that, were knarled and bent. The black leaves covered the trunk but one could see that it was a sickly color. There were wicked bushes that's eyes sought out the group, trying to figure out it's dynamic-the weak links.  
  
The vulcaries were birds of unusual size and form. They had long, hooked beaks with a tiny bent part in the front. The ominous gray of its large wings and body covered them in a think smothering blanket. Its talons were extended as it swooped down and snatched an unlucky goblin that had wandered into the area. Jareth winced, it hurt him to just sit there and watch but he could *not* afford to alert Kelion to their presence just yet.  
  
"Lets go." There was pain in his voice as he stood up. Angelus was shocked. He didn't think that Jareth felt pain or sorrow at the loss of a subject. He seemed too powerful important to care. They walked along in silence for a while before Jareth spoke. "You have questions, ask."  
  
"Why do you care about you subjects? I mean if they are as dumb as I've heard, why care?"  
  
"Because they aren't as dumb as people like to think. And except for a trick in birth, I could have been one of them."  
  
"But I've seen you and Willow be cruel without a thought, how do you reconcile yourself to that?"  
  
"It's hard, at first, discipline is necessary. We are what we are, creatures of mingled light and darkness. Both sides must be appeased for our lives to be full and happy. To neglect one side is wrong and makes for an unhappy existence. The trick is not to let the darkness overwhelm you, never to forget who you are. It's like a parent who must discipline a child. The parent still loves the child but must exercise their authority and correct the wrong behavior."  
  
"But what about earlier, after we found about what Kelion is doing to Willow?"  
  
Jareth waved dismissively. "That was just something that happened. I've already begun to make restitution. As for the lives lost, well, no one good stays dead here. They come back and are better for it."  
  
They pressed on in silence, both thinking and wondering about what was to come on the path ahead. Angelus wondered how the others were doing.  
  
Spike and Buffy had been walking along a meandering road for a while, only it was brighter road than the one Angelus and Jareth walked down. "Something's bugging you, what is it?"  
  
Spike was surprised by her astuteness and it showed in his blue eyes as he looked back at her. "This road. It's too happy for this realm, fills me with a sense of unease."  
  
"What did you expect? Darkness, brimstone, skeletons, and demons?" She asked curiously.  
  
He nodded "This is the realm where nightmares are created and dwell. We should be seeing a hint of that, although, to a vampire, all this brightness and light is scary."  
  
"Is it really that bad? Being here? And how do you know Willow? Or is that another thing I don't want to hear about?"  
  
Spike leapt up onto a fallen log and reached down to help her because he could see she was still feeling run-down from the last few days. "Down here it isn't bad because this place is old friend. When I was 10 my mom wished me away. I was raised with Willow and Jareth before I was expelled."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Not sure really. Jareth and Will were away attending to their jobs. Kelion set me up to take the fall for a colleague. Next thing I know, I'm face to face with Angelus."  
  
"Were you scared?" She asked, gamely hopping from one slippery sath to the next behind him. They were kind of like rocks only flatter and firmer.  
  
"Not at first. When I realized that my fae protection was gone-well, I was to in love with him by them to be afraid. You know, it wasn't until Kelion tried to kill me that he decided to turn me." He shoved her to the shore, wincing as he heard the crack of her wrist because the saths had started shaking and rising, revealing the creature beneath. It looked like an iguanodon, only with the teeth and hunger of a T-rex!   
  
"Sorry." He yelled but she paid no attention, slicing a thick vine off of one of the trees and tossing it at him. He caught it and used it to swing over to the other side, landing beside her. "Thanks."  
  
After he was ashore they ran away. "Scary enough for you?" He shrugged and they shimmied down cliff into the deep ravine below. "Do you know where we're going?"  
  
"Yes. All roads here no matter when they seem to go, lead straight to the castle. How's your wrist?" He asked, seeing her holding it gingerly. They passed by a bunch of ugly whey colored panicka bushes.  
  
"Painful but I'll live." She watched him walk over to another ugly panicka bush and pulled off some of the leaves, which he ground into a fine, oily powder. "What are you doing? Don't you remember where we are?" Her voice was slightly panicked.  
  
He put the stuff on her wrist and she hissed but stopped when she realized the pain was gone. "This place has some of the most affective medicines in the Underground. On the downside, unless you know the proper way to use them, they can be lethal." Spike warned and she flinched. "I had to learn all these plants being here makes everything clearer. I remember telling Angelus all about my time here, he drew the pictures with such wonderful detail. I still have them. I miss those times. I know you don't understand and that's all right." Spike and Buffy walked on in silence.  
  
"Tell me about him." Buffy asked softly after a few minutes.  
  
"My Angelus is different from yours, he cared deeply about others. It's why he's such a deadly vampire, especially when these he loves are threatened."  
  
"So, why is he so different now?" Was the next question. Spike was surprised that she actually seemed to care. "What? I'd really like to know."  
  
He nodded. "The curse. For almost one hundred years he's had his natural passions smothered, shut out. He's been denied his very nature. Then suddenly, he's free once again and his greatest enemy too responsible for it. How would that make you feel?" Spike looked back at her as they walked through the darkening cavern.  
  
"Angry, ill-used, confused." Buffy shivered as a wail tore through the air, bringing with it a freezing, blinding mist. She coughed as the air settled in her lungs. "Think they knew we were coming?" She managed between gasps for cleaner air.  
  
"He knew Let's get you out of here." She was choking and he lifted her easily into his arms, then shifted her onto his shoulder, heading for higher ground. Her body convulsed and he wondered how long she'd hold out. That made him worry about Willow and how she and Dru were doing.  
  
At that moment, she was being restrained by Dru. The rest of the staff had been confined to other quarters. "Come on, poppet, don't be like this. Jareth will be devastated. And daddy and Spike will be so sad. Please, settle down. That nasty fae won't get you. Come on."  
  
Unfortunately, Dru forgot about Spike's warning and her bare hand touched the skin around her upper shoulders. She found herself pulled into Willow's troubled mind, landing on the dark, bleary landscape. *Just great.  
*****  
Buffy looked down at Willow, a huge smile on her face. "Oh, how sweet! You actually thought that I was hurt by your actions. I must be a better actress than I thought. As if an insignificant little book-worm nobody like you could affect me. I am the Slayer, the Chosen One you know."  
"But you said...and you ran away crying...and Angelus' playing..."  
"Oh, yes, Angelus. He's such a sexy dear, isn't he? And he does adore his games. I don't believe how dense you are. He actually made you believe that we hate each other. You really are a dummy."  
"I agree with you, my sweet Buffy. She actually thought that her pathetically, childish maze challenged me. As if such a doormat like her could be smart enough to challenge one with a miniscule brain, much less one of my experience." Angelus' distinctive voice came from their side and he sauntered over to the two girls, wrapping an arm around Buffy's waist.   
"Not possible!" Willow tried to deny it. "You couldn't possibly have had such an easy time."  
"Please. I was a little thrown by the wall guarding the maze but the rest? How dumb do you think I am?" He leaned down and touched her cheek, smacking it lightly before turning back to Buffy. She leaned into the embrace, laughing with him at the horrified look on Willow's face. "Just pathetic. What did you ever see in her anyway?"  
"An easy A." Came Xander's voice. He stood beside Angelus and grinned up at him, before sending her a pitying look. "Willow may not be much of anything but she is rather clever when it comes to schoolwork, wouldn't you say, Cordy?"  
"That's about all the little brainiack could do. She never did get that personality thing down." Cordy agreed. They laughed and faded away to reveal William-looking exactly as he did the last time she saw him.  
"William! You're alive!" Her voice was full of joy and she leapt up, only to be shoved harshly away. She landed on her knees, aware of an extreme pain traveling through them.  
"No thanks to you." He coldly uttered. 'If you hadn't left me, this wouldn't have happened." Before her eyes, his healthy and vital appearance faded and turned into a beaten and bullet ridden body. Then he vamped out, becoming Spike! "See what you did to me, pet?"  
She shook her head in denial. "No. How did this happen?"  
"You failed and condemned me to this life. Are you happy?" He left, she knelt on the ground, staring at the empty space where they had all been.  
Suddenly, she was jumped by a large Haifa. As he brutally mauled her, her friends and enemies appeared. They laughed and cheered the giant creature on as he tried to rip her throat out. Dru was galvanized into action, she had promised. She leapt at it and threw it to the side. Before it could do more than stare up at her, she snapped its neck. He fell back with a satisfying thud. She walked over to the fallen Willow and started to clean her wounds. "There, there, little tree. They're lying."  
"No, no they're not. I'm useless, no good at anything. I even fail at simple things like friendship. I'd be better off dead!" Willow exclaimed. Dru was shocked by the dead look in her eyes that suddenly filled with a suicidal glint. She pulled free and lunged for the jeweled dagger hanging in the middle of the air.  
"No!" Dru tackled her, they rolled down the hill, stopping near the murky waters below. Dru shook her shoulders, preventing her from moving. "That's crazy talk! No one would be happy if you died. It would solve nothing!" Dru was trying to be firm and comforting at the same time. It was harder than her Spike made it look.  
"It wouldn't?" There was a question in her voice, as though she hadn't thought there was another way. 'Why not?"  
"Because many would be saddened. Don't you know how loved you are, little weeper?" The vampiress stroked her brow, watching her face carefully. "Don't you know where you are?"  
"In the dark. It's cold, so very cold here. Sometimes the night things come and hunt me. They'll get you too." Willow said, chewing on her lip. She was staring to come out of the fog that clouded her mind. "How did you get in here?"  
"I'm not sure. I just touched your skin and here I was. Love the nice décor. Are you going to be okay?"  
Willow's eyes were clear and focused, she stood up. "Looks like you're going to be here for a while. Come on. There are some demons that need to be exorcised." They headed back up the hill, not at all surprised to find Buffy there, waiting for them...  
*****  
As Jareth and Angelus crested the hill and looked at the valley below, a feeling of foreboding descended upon them. With a great deal of trepidation, they moved forward, bypassing the valley and heading for the craggy cliffs surrounded by a gray mist on their right.  
  
They hadn't gone far when they heard a slight rustle above them, they paused before continuing. Angelus was aware of nothing, except the sound around him. His senses cried that there was a predator nearby but he couldn't pin down where. And he was so very tired of listening to Jareth say this and that, of following his fast paced trek, they seemed to be constantly walking but going nowhere. He was getting angrier by the second.  
  
Jareth knew that Angelus was under the influence of the shapshu but hoped that he had enough strength to resist its powerful lure. The shapshu was a more powerful force than any in these mountains, he had to get them out before...he was rudely brought out of his thoughts by a vicious punch that knocked him down. Jareth jumped up and flat punched Angelus in the nose, using his other hand to block the return attacks. They fought, fast and furious, the shapshu feeding on their energy, 'til Jareth let loose with a vicious kick to Angelus' solar plexus, knocking him over, then he caught him in a tight head lock, holding him until the vampire was knocked out. He didn't want to do this but the shapshu's interference forced him to use his magics to teleport them away from the fordemo mountains.  
  
Kelion sat on his throne and smirked as he watched them through his vahler. *Life is good, Willow is miserable. Jareth is helpless and those four ninnies helping him could do nothing. He kicked a gibbon out the window and gave a satisfied grin as he heard its shriek, life was definitely good. *Teach that little brat to mess with me. He settled down to watch the show. Unfortunately, his momentary distraction made him miss Jareth's next move.  
  
"Do you think its wise to let them get so close?" Alanna asked, she was sitting on his right. She was a statuesque fae with dark blue hair with shots of sea blue running through it. Her eyes were an opaque but the coldness within was cutting.  
  
"Woman, don't bother me. They are no threat. That little girl is human, the other three are vampires. What can they do? Why don't you go do something useful, like knit booties like a good little woman should?" He snapped at her and sent her to her room.  
  
"Never underestimate the human kind, Kelion." Alanna warned from her room. Then she walked to the door, as much as she disapproved of how Kelion was handling things, she didn't want to miss this.  
  
Spike and Buffy emerged near the castle grove, he lowered her to the ground. They were surprised when they saw Jareth appear, carrying an unconscious Angelus over his shoulder. "Shapshu." He answered shortly at their stunned looks, they made their way up the grove path. "He knows we're here." Jareth dryly said, spotting the guard heading their way. He dropped the awakening Angelus and threw a crystal at them.  
  
"No, you think?" Spike dryly exclaimed as he took out some of the guards. After taking care of the guard, they went into the castle and were surprised to see themselves engaged in battle.  
  
"What?" Angelus started, then shook his head. "A diversionary tactic. Brilliant." He jumped into the fray. Jareth followed but ordered Spike and Buffy to find Kelion.  
  
"Come on, pet. We have the head Nancy boy to get." Spike and Buffy went to the hideously decorated throne room. She gasped when she saw the elegant man who sat there, surrounded by chattering gibbons and freelers. He was tall, husky man with dark raven hair and eyes that pierced through defenses, causing one to doubt one's ability. He exuded an aura of true authority. "Don't let his looks pull you in." Spike warned.  
  
Buffy nodded. Kelion seemed as stunned by them as they were by him. "Who are you that dares?" He bellowed at them but he didn't wait for a response. "What are you waiting for? Get them!" They jumped to attention and ferocious battle commenced, Buffy and Spike moved quickly pulling them ahead. With Jareth and Angelus arrival the battle became more of a slaughter, Angelus was in his element.  
  
Spike moved to the throne and pulled Kelion up by his shirt. "You asked who dared but didn't wait. Does the name William mean anything to you?"  
  
"How about Buffy?" She punched him in the back. "Or better yet, Willow's friend." A blast of purple light shoved her aside and she looked up at the Queen, who had just entered the room. Spike snarled a warning when he realized who it was before turning his attention to the now fighting Kelion.  
  
Alanna looked down at the blonde and laughed, it was the kind that cut you to the quick and left you aching within every fiber of your being. "You mean my brat has friends? Are you dumb or just blind to that girl's worthless."  
  
Buffy leapt up and dealt her a sound round house, followed by a series of brutal kicks that left the other woman stunned. "No body, but *NO BODY* talks about *my* friends that way." Alanna growled and flung a nifka at her. The small blade flew near her cheek and Buffy dodged it nimbly and crashed into the ha'vre, causing their powers to be reduced so that the fight was fairer.  
  
"Oh, now she's done it. One never insults or threatens the friends of the Slayer, I learned that the hard way." Angelus murmured to Jareth, having overheard the queen's rather piercing words. He evaded a wild punch by a greifter and flung him in the way of two of his buddies. "Tell me something, do they ever get a clue that we're going to win?"  
  
"Nope." Jareth grunted when an arrow ripped through his shoulder and he lashed out, using one of the empty chairs as a shield. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Alanna approaching Buffy, who'd been jumped by a creeper. *Oh, boy. This is not good. He watched as Spike bashed Kelion's head on his throne before Kelion tossed a smoky crysis in his face. Spike reared back and Kelion got in a few good punches before Spike lashed out with his foot.  
  
"Loyalty," Alanna sneered as she threw the creeper away from Buffy and yanked her up by her hair, "how very...human. A wasted emotion on my pathetic excuse of a fae daughter." Buffy smashed her head back into Alanna's and flipped the woman over at Spike, leaping at Kelion. Spike sensed her coming and caught her, punching her face and twisting her arm.  
  
"A word of advice." Spike growled, him and Buffy tossing the two around between them like bean bags. "Never make fun of Red, never."  
  
"Especially around us!" Buffy fired back. Jareth and Angelus had finished off the rest of the guard and watched the two of them play with their victims. "Now, tell me how to free Willow before we forget our manners and get rough with you!"  
  
"Or we let our friends over there have you, I'm sure Angelus and Jareth can persuade you to cooperate." Spike offered, noting with a sense of satisfaction the utter paleness that Kelion's face had turned. "Hey, peaches, you're known down here!"  
  
"Really?" Angelus walked over and reached a hand in and grabbed Kelion. "You two play nice with that imitation of a woman while me and this *thing* here have a little talk."  
Kelion went even paler, if such a thing was possible. Angelus was well known in his realm, many of his actions were held up to be emulated. "No, please. You can't be serious. I'll give you whatever you want, Mr. Scourge, sir."  
  
Angelus pretended to think, then shook his head. "Uhm, no. I'm afraid that you have nothing that I want." He backhanded him, making his jaw crack nicely. He continued to beat him as he spoke. "Now, I wonder what it is that I could have done to generate such fear from you. I don't believe we've ever met."  
  
Jareth watched the proceedings with a sigh, while he was pleased that they were able to get here and begin to break them down. He worried about his sister, his crystals had shown him nothing-not even Dru. They needed finish this, soon. "Enough!" He turned to one of the servant girls. "Bring me the ring. Now!" He bellowed when the girl just stood there, starring at him dumbly. She scurried out of the room. *Oh, Wills, be okay.  
*****  
After facing down Buffy, Angelus, Xander, Cordelia, and William, plus the Haifa, Dru and Willow walked forward. "What are we supposed to do now? Just keep going?" Willow asked.  
"I guess so. It's your mind, strange though it may be." Dru shrugged. "I know not, I just know that you brought me here."  
A fire ball exploded at their feet, separating the girls. Kelion stood before them. "Well, well, well. What do we have here? A pretty little dark goddess and an imbecile."  
Willow stood and snorted. "Big words for one such as you. Do you even know what they mean?"  
Dru crawled over to her and looked up, she'd only seen an expression that cold on her daddy's face. "What are you doing? Do you have any idea who that is?" She hissed.  
Willow smirked, "Of course I know who that yokel is. He's the one who did all this to me 'cause he lacks the creativity to do anything different."  
"Why you little..." Kelion's eyes flashed dangerously at them  
"Been there, done that. You know, Kelion, for a guy who's over 200, you really need to work on you vocab." She quipped, lightly juggling three or four crystals in her left hand. Dru watched in amazement, trying to see the individual ones but she couldn't. To her wondering eyes, it looked liked they glowed and promised untold wonders for the beholder of this marvelous treasure. "You like? You may have." Willow dropped one in Dru's hand.   
Dru smiled appreciatively, "Oh, thank you." She cradled the orb in her hands, feeling its power encircle and protect her from what was to come.  
She turned back to Kelion, sashaying over to him. "You know, Kelion, I've never really liked you. Your taste in clothes in atrocious, your manner lacking, and your intelligence is none existent."  
Kelion watched her, she stopped a few inches from him. "Tough words for a little girl whose stuck in her own mind because *I* trapped her there." He sneered, exuding a superior air.  
"True, but then you had help. On your own, you never could. But you're here in *my* mind, have you ever considered what that means?"  
His veneer of confidence began to break. "What do you mean?"  
"I mean," she spoke softly, emphasizing every word. "That here I can finish what I started and, unlike last time, my dearest daddy won't be here to save your worthless hide!" With no more warning than that, she pulled out a hyd'bre. The long, sharp ax cut him in two, sending his energy around them in black waves.   
The tone of the land began to meld and change, colors burst forth. Her mindscape became partially her own once more. But there was one corner that was not quite right and it could only mean one thing. "Much better, that doom and gloom was just a tad too much for me. Come on, Dru. I think the most wonderfulest of mothers is waiting for me."  
Dru hopped up willingly. She just wished she could get some of the action, everyone else was having more fun than her. "Okay. But can I kill something else, please?"  
"Sure, dearest mother will have plenty of toys for you to play with. She always did love a spot of violence." Willow shrugged. *This is the weirdest situation I've ever been in. Who would've thought that I'd be traipsing through my mind with Dru, one of the most feared vampires of all time. And liking it! "Is Spike really our William?"  
"Yes, little tree. He's been most distracted ever since daddy told us of you, I didn't like you then. You were taking my Spike from me." Dru was matter of fact. "If you weren't fae, I would have killed you for it."  
"Thanks." Willow was amused.  
"What are jealous lovers for?" Dru asked, she knew that Willow knew there was no heat in her threat but she needed to say it. Deep within she still resented this girl's power over Spike, though she realized that it was only the love of a sister for a brother.  
"It's nice to know that he has someone like you to care for him. He needs that." Willow responded. They were suddenly jumped by a band of trolls, Dru smiled widely as she engaged in battle with them. "You have an odd idea of fun, my sweet."  
Before Dru could do more than nod at her, a cold voice spoke up. "My goodness, girl, do you always bring home such losers?"   
The sound of the voice made Willow freeze up. It was the voice that had haunted her all her life, in it was the deep coldness found only in the arctic circle. No one else had ever achieved such a state of menace, though many had tried. It could only be..."Mother." And Willow found herself feeling once again like the four year old who'd been so terrified by her mother. Gone was the confident fae who'd become a queen in her own right, doing things her own way. She was petrified before her mother.  
*****  
Jareth handled the ring very carefully. Off to his side, Spike and Angelus sat, watching the proceedings with interested eyes. Buffy had gone back at his castle because Jareth had used a crystal and found out that Dru had disappeared. They needed someone to be with Willow, though she seemed to be recovering. In front of him, chained to the ground, were his mother and Kelion. He knew he had a fine line to tread here, they must be executed but without his father's approval that would be high treason. The ring, on the other hand..."Kelion!" He barked.   
  
Kelion looked up, hate in his fathomless eyes. "Yes?" His voice was full of contempt.  
  
Jareth stood and strode over to him, pulling him up by jerking hard on the chain around his neck. "Break this." He softly commanded, holding out the ring.  
  
Kelion looked from the ring to Jareth and something made him rebel. "Never!"  
  
"Thought you'd say that. Angelus, talk to him. That might change his mind." Jareth tossed the now helpless king over to the grinning vampire.  
  
"With pleasure." He paused and looked over at Spike. Their discussion replayed in his head and he knew that Spike missed playing with him. They'd always had such fun. He missed that, it wouldn't help recapture what was lost but..."Want to help, Spike?"  
  
Spike was surprised, he'd never thought that they'd play their games together after all that had happened. *Guess my Angelus is coming back to us after all. Thank you, guys. He smiled and together, they 'persuaded' Kelion to see things Jareth's way.  
  
Jareth shook his head, sighing. "Why must you always do things the hard way? It gets rather boring after a while."  
  
They looked up at him, mutinously silent. Spike piped up. "Your sister was right, he is an idiot." Just then, there was a crash of loud thunder and they gathered together at the window, Jareth keeping a tight grip on the chains of his captives. "Jareth, isn't that?"  
  
"King Dramius? Yes, it is." Jareth was grim. This was an unexpected problem, his father had once before sided with the Nightmare King, would he do so again? And this time, lose Willow forever? On the other hand, Alanna and Kelion were positively gleeful. The high king entered the room, those present bowed. He was as dark as his son was light, but no less impressive. His eyes and face were more like those of a true fae. "Father. What a surprise."  
  
He waved off Jareth's words. "I've been watching something rather interesting. It seems that some of the middle ground creatures escaped into the upper realm. Does anyone here care to explain how that had happened?"  
  
Kelion smirked and shared a victorious glance with Alanna, *it's about time to play the victim. "Well, sire..."  
  
"Silence!" Dramius ordered. "It was a rhetorical question. I have been watching for quite sometime. And you know what? I found out some very interesting things. Would you like to know what? Let's start with the fact that, my daughter was right, you did set William up. You have tried to kill my daughter. Very bad taste, my boy. And you, my own dear wife. Going along with this mad plot because you disapprove of how she chooses to live." The two in chains exchanged looks, they knew that their fates were sealed. He nodded and they were taken away to be executed.   
  
He then turned towards Jareth and his friends. "But *you* should have come to me with your suspicions, son. Not run off harum scarum. If that charming Buffy hadn't talked with me, I would be more inclined to punish you. But she approached, and I have agreed to let you off. This *once*, mind you."  
  
"Yes, father." Jareth bowed his head, acknowledging his father's gracious words. "But what about Willow? Why isn't she here?"  
  
"That I do not know, nor do I have the power to find out. And you will do nothing more now." His father's voice was final. And they knew it. King Dramius teleported them out of the Nightmare Realm and into Jareth's Labyrinth, where they waited for Willow to awaken.  
  
*****  
Willow stood as her mother approached her. "So, you finally came. I was wondering if you'd ever figure it out. Personally, if that vampire hadn't helped you, you never would have." She stood in front of her. "What's the matter? Qureve got your tongue?"  
Dru had finished off the trolls and turned towards Willow, surprised to see her standing still. The fear flowed off of her in delicious waves but something *wasn't* right about this. "Willow? Are you all right?"  
"Oh, it's no use talking to her. She hasn't got the sense given a piece of dirt." Alanna remarked, looking Dru over.  
"You're wrong there." Dru snarled, she didn't like this fae woman. She smelled nasty and truly evil. "I think you're describing yourself."  
"Why you nasty, little trollop!" Alanna twisted her arm and threw her aside. Then she started to beat her.  
Willow watched the proceedings with hazy eyes. But when her mother abused Dru, something inside her snapped. "Don't do that!" She leapt at her mother and let her anger run as wild as her fists. "You always do this! Use violence to solve all your problems! You never helped anyone! I am *different* from you. I have a heart! And I'm not afraid to use it!" She couldn't see through her tears, finally Dru pulled her away from Alanna's fallen body.  
"There, there, little one. Let it out and begin to heal." Dru stroked her hair and soothed her as one would a baby. But she was surprised when she began to fade away. "See you soon, my daddy's little weeper. Be safe."  
Willow cried, unconsoled as the words that she'd resisted so strenuously earlier played in her mind, over and over. Then clear as a bell, two dear voices called out to her, ones that she never thought she'd ever hear again-Buffy and William's.   
*****  
"Willow? Come back to us, please. I need you." Buffy was crying, her friend was still beyond her reach. Dru had suddenly appeared and told them of her strange adventures in Willow's mind. Willow was physically well but her soul was far away. After all they had done, were they to lose her now? "Please, come back."  
  
"We need you, pet. You have no idea how much I've missed you over the years." Spike held her hand in his, it was limp. "Come on, Red, don't be like this." He felt a little tug on his hand and started. *Could it be? "Willow?" The tug came again, stronger.   
  
Buffy jumped, Willow's eyes fluttered and then opened. Her tired voice sounded in their ears. "Hi. Didn't mean to make you worry." She broke into a flurry of coughs, the words felt like they cut up her throat. After she calmed down, she looked at Dru. "Thanks for everything. Angelus, thank you."  
  
"No problem. You know, we really must do this again sometime. You under worlders sure know how to make a vampire feel welcome." He said, lightly kissing her forehead.  
  
She blushed faintly. "You'll have to forgive me if I decline. This is not an experience I'd care to repeat. William, I don't know how to thank you after all that's happened to you because we left you alone and unprotected here."  
  
"Pet, it wasn't you. And I know what you did for me, I love you, little sister." Spike embraced her warmly, much to Dru's dismay. Willow winked at her and she relaxed, just a bit.  
  
Willow turned to Buffy and swallowed. "I really appreciate you're coming here and helping me after I betrayed your trust."  
  
Buffy threw herself onto the bed and at Willow, hugging her tightly, ''No, I'm sorry. I know that you would never have told Angelus the truth before us, he found out, didn't he?" Willow nodded and Angelus laughed, loudly.  
  
"Well what do you know. Blondie figured it out."  
  
"Shut up, Angelus." They chorused together, then Buffy turned to Willow. "I love you, sister." She meant it but Buffy also realized that she'd need some more time to deal with this. Willow also understood that she'd need to be there for Buffy and together they'd patch up their relationship.  
  
"Oh, I love you, too." Then Willow slowly got up, pain in her every movement. She stood in front of Jareth, smiling at him. "It seems that every time I see you, Jareth, I am not in the best of positions. Thank you."  
  
"What are big brothers for?" Jareth hugged her tightly. Then drew away as he remembered something. "Close your eyes, I've got something for you."  
  
She did as he asked and he placed something in her hands. When she opened them, she squealed in sheer delight. "Mr. Fluffy! Where did you find him?" In her hands was the same bear she'd lost so many years ago. "Oh, Jareth, I do love you so."  
  
"I found him lying around and he just looked so lonely, I thought I knew of someone who'd give him a good home." He picked her up and swung her around in circles, deliriously happy that she was with them once more. "And I love you."  
  
"Since this seems to be the time for apologies, might I offer mine?" King Dramius stood in the doorway and looked at his daughter. "Please forgive me for not believing you about William. You were right."  
  
Willow looked over at him, then she approached him. "You came through in the end, there is nothing to forgive." She hugged him.  
  
"Oh, no. There is everything to forgive. This would *not* have happened if I had believed you from the start. Forgive me, Willow. And you, William." He looked over at the vampire who'd become a second son to him, apologetically.  
  
"As Willow has said, sir, there is nothing to forgive." Though he didn't really feel that way, Spike said it. He was rewarded by Willow's radiant smile and a mouthed 'thank you.'  
  
King Dramius knew he wouldn't win, so he smiled and left the room. "So, sis, who are you going to call as the new Nightmare King?" There was a burst of laughter, the high king sighed and wished he'd taken the time to know his children, that included William, better. They were a rear group, then he left.  
  
The End.  



End file.
